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Authors: Christine Trent

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Jane never viewed her novels as romances, as we do today. Rather she saw them as contemporary commentary on the values and social customs of nineteenth-century English country families. In other words, she wrote what she knew.
The second Lady Derby, née Elizabeth Farren (c. 1759–1829), was a stage actress who caught the eye of the rather squat and unattractive Derby. He married her with indecent haste after the death of his first wife, also Elizabeth, who left him for John Frederick Sackville, the Duke of Dorset, after many years of a miserable marriage. Derby was besotted with his second Elizabeth, though, and together they had four children.
Lord and Lady Derby did indeed reside at number 23 Grosvenor Square, that square being one of the most fashionable locations in London. The earliest, seventeenth-century, houses there were built as three main stories plus an attic, but most were rebuilt in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, generally acquiring an extra story. Robert Adam rebuilt the Earl of Derby's home, and it is regarded as one of the architect's finest works.
On a personal note, I was in London on September 11th and attended a memorial service three days later at Grosvenor Square, where the U.S. Embassy is now located. As of this writing, it has been ten years since that event, and I am still deeply grateful to the British for their outpouring of kindness and love to a pair of stranded Americans in their city. The memorial service was very moving, especially coupled with the great respect the people of London showed by silencing their cars at noon in a show of sympathy. I shall never forget it.
The Regency era, for all of its fancy balls and elegant manners, was a time of great social unrest in Britain, marked by periods of famine, chronic unemployment, and parliamentary abuses. The economic depression was especially felt in the cloth industry, among textile weavers and spinners, who saw their wages plummet by nearly 70 percent.
Cloth manufacture remained an extremely laborious, time-intensive process until the advent of early nineteenth-century machinery. Merely turning the flax plant into linen involved over twenty different steps, which I simplified for the purposes of this book. It is interesting to note that today's political term of “heckling” is derived from this industry. The flax hecklers of Dundee, Scotland, established a reputation as radical agitators. The heckling shops were places of ferocious debate over the day's news while working. Eventually, the hecklers moved their arguments from their shop floors to public meetings, where they would bait politicians with questions to comb out truths that might otherwise be concealed; hence the activity became known as heckling.
The Luddites were British textile craftsmen who created a social movement to protest the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt was destroying their way of life and leaving them without work. These protests frequently took the form of smashing the new, automated machinery used in cloth finishing but occasionally became more violent. The Luddites took their name from Ned Ludd, a weaver who is presumed to be responsible for breaking two knitting frames in a fit of rage in the late 1700s. The new movement in 1812 adopted Ned Ludd as their mythical leader. The term “Luddite” has come to be synonymous with anyone who opposes, or fears, the advancement of technology.
George Mellor was one of many men nicknamed “King Ludd.” His attack on Cartwright's mill was indeed greeted by the mill owner's men pouring acid containers from the roof.
The 1815 passage of the Corn Laws, which covered not only corn but various grains and cereal crops, placed an import tariff on foreign crops. Prices had dropped dramatically following the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and the intent was to protect the profits of British farmers. The result, however, was disastrous, since it prevented any foreign grains from being imported until the domestic price reached a certain level, resulting in grain shortages and, consequently, rioting and strikes.
Matters were further worsened by the dreadful harvest in 1816, following the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815, which resulted in the “year without a summer.” People were especially hard hit in the north and places like Wales, and refugees poured into London, looking for relief.
There was great opportunity in times of such uneasiness for extremists like Arthur Thistlewood (1774–1820) and Henry Hunt (1773–1835). Thistlewood spent time in France during that revolution and sought to import those radical ideas into Britain. His goal was an immediate, bloody overthrow of the government. His claims of great genius are true, and my description of him on the scaffold chewing an orange, singing, and telling the hangman to “do it tidy” is also accurate. Thistlewood was the mastermind behind the violent, but ultimately harebrained, Cato Street Conspiracy, through which he took many others to the gallows with him.
Hunt was a charismatic speaker and agitator who advocated parliamentary reform and repeal of the Corn Laws. He was at the forefront of many events like the Spa Field Riots.
The Peterloo Massacre was an unfortunate event in British history. An assembly of about sixty thousand people was formed at St. Peter's Field in Manchester to demand parliamentary reform. Unlike many other protests, the organizers were determined that this would be a peaceable gathering, and this was reflected in its attendance by a large number of women and children. Unfortunately, the local magistrates assumed the worst, which was not completely unreasonable based on other rioting going on around the country, and called in the military. A detachment of horse artillery attempted to calmly disperse the crowd, but the horses became frightened, and chaos ensued. When it was over, eighteen people had been killed and around five hundred were wounded, many of them women. Journalists on the scene were quick to publish stories about the carnage, with James Wroe of the
Manchester Observer
nicknaming the event Peterloo, a cross between “St. Peter's Field” and “Waterloo.”
Tragically, Peterloo's immediate effect was a governmental crackdown on any reform, with the passage of what became known as the Six Acts, a series of laws designed to suppress radical meetings and publications. By the end of 1820, nearly every significant reformer—including Mr. Wroe—was in jail and civil liberties had been curtailed to pre-Peterloo levels.
Other historical people in the novel include Lord Spencer Perceval, who was indeed assassinated by John Bellingham inside the House of Commons, although I moved the date from May 1812 to June 1812, to better suit my story's time line. This murder was the only successful assassination of a British prime minister, although other attempts have been made throughout history. Other real people who make brief appearances are Lord Liverpool, Speaker of the House George Abbot, Lord Harrowby, Lady Anne Hamilton, Lady Jane Hood, Thomas Spence, the spy George Edwards, and conspirators John Brunt, William Davidson, John Harrison, James Ings, and Richard Tidd.
The illegal opium trade of the nineteenth century was just coming into vogue in the time period of this story, spurred on by trading activities of the East India Company. The “opium dens” sensationalized by nineteenth-century novels were far more prevalent in cities like San Francisco and New York than in London. The English consumption of opiates was typically in the form of laudanum, sleeping draughts, poppy tea, and other legal, widely available “remedies.”
Furniture makers, more aptly termed cabinetmakers, of the period not only built traditional furniture but were also responsible for picture frames, musical instruments, wall sconces, mirrors, and even coffins. Coffin-building was a profitable sideline during slow periods, since there were always new customers needing them!
Whereas the furniture of the late eighteenth century trended toward a delicate, spindly look, the Regency brought about a more opulent style, still Classical in inspiration but with more ornamentation.
It can be difficult to attribute pieces to specific cabinetmakers of the time, because most British cabinetmakers didn't sign their products. Hence we see terms like “Hepplewhite-style” to refer to pieces that could have either come from that workshop or been directly copied by other artisans.
As with architects, there was no formal cabinetmakers guild. This is ironic, since there were guilds for just about every other aspect of woodworking: The joiners, carpenters, carvers, and turners all had their own guilds.
There were generally three levels of cabinetmaker: apprentice, journeyman, and master cabinetmaker. An apprentice usually started around the age of fourteen, and would be selected by the master based upon strength, a necessary attribute for working with wood. An apprenticeship lasted seven years, meaning he could achieve journeyman level by the age of twenty-one. An apprentice received room and board but no pay, whereas a journeyman was paid and received nothing else.
The master cabinetmaker usually owned the shop and would always be the one to greet customers and discuss commissions.
Those who have read my previous two books,
The Queen's Dollmaker
and
A Royal Likeness,
will perhaps forgive an author's fancy in bringing back the great Madame Tussaud for one final mention, as the provider of Put's glass eye. Her traveling wax exhibition did actually pass through London in 1812, although she probably wouldn't have been handing out replacement parts to her visitors. It would be twenty-three more years before Tussaud settled down into a permanent location on Baker Street in 1835, later moved to nearby Marylebone Road.
 
Christine Trent
NOVEMBER 2011
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Beard, Geoffrey.
The National Trust Book of English Furniture
. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Viking, 1985.
Black, Maggie, and Deirdre Le Faye.
The Jane Austen Cookbook
. Toronto: McClelland and Steward, 1995.
Carroll, Leslie.
Notorious Royal Marriages: A Juicy Journey through Nine Centuries of Dynasty, Destiny, and Desire
. New York: New American Library, 2010.
———.
Royal Affairs: A Lusty Romp Through the Extramarital Adventures That Rocked the British Monarchy
. New York: New American Library, 2008.
Chippendale, Thomas.
The Gentleman & Cabinetmaker's Director: Reprint of the Third Edition with a Biographical Sketch with Photographic Supplement of Chippendale-Type Furniture,
New York: Dover Publications, 1966.
Davis, Terence.
The Architecture of John Nash
. London: Studio Books, 1960.
———.
John Nash: The Prince Regent's Architect
. Cranbury, NJ: A.S. Barnes and Co., 1966.
Fraser, Flora.
The Unruly Queen: The Life of Queen Caroline
. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.
Gaynor, James M., and Nancy L. Hagedorn.
Tools: Working Wood in Eighteenth-Century America
. Williamsburg: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1993.
Griffiths, Arthur.
The Chronicles of Newgate.
New York: Dorset Press, 1987.
Hobhouse, Hermione.
A History of Regent Street
. London: Macdonald and Jane's, 1975.
Hughes, Kristine.
Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England, from 1811–1901
. Cincinnati: Writer's Digest Books, 1998.
Lewis, Ethel.
The Romance of Textiles
. New York: Macmillan and Company, 1937.
Mansbridge, Michael.
John Nash: A Complete Catalogue
. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1991.
Nash, John.
Views of the Royal Pavilion
. Introduction by Gervase Jackson-Stops. New York: Abbeville Press, 1991.
Nylander, Jane C.
Fabrics for Historic Buildings
. Washington, DC: The Preservation Press, 1990.
Parissien, Steven.
George IV: Inspiration of the Regency
. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2001.
———.
Regency Style
. London: Phaidon Press, 1992.
Priestley, J. B. The Prince of Pleasure and His Regency. New York: Harper & Row, 1969.
Service, Alastair.
The Architects of London and Their Buildings from 1066 to the Present Day
. London: The Architectural Press, 1979.
Watson, Sir Francis.
The History of Furniture
. London: Orbis Publishing, 1976.
Yorke, Trevor.
Georgian & Regency Houses Explained
. Berkshire: Countryside Books, 2007.
 
 
INTERNET REFERENCES
 
 
The Georgian Index
www.georgianindex.net
 
Royal Pavilion, Museums & Libraries
www.brighton-hove-rpml.org.uk
 
Spartacus International
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1.
What was it about architecture that made it primarily a man's domain? After all, there were noted women artists of the time and architecture is certainly an art form. What made people view this business in an entirely different way than mere art?
2.
How were city planning projects in early nineteenth-century Great Britain different from, say, twentieth-century United States projects? Think in terms of financing, authority, and concepts like “eminent domain.”
3.
Would it be difficult in the Regency period for a woman to carry on her father's trade as a draper? How were women's roles in society changing by this point?
4.
Do you think Wesley Stirling's troubles were caused by his sister, were a result of his opium addiction, or were caused by some blend of the two? How might one have fed off the other? What do you think made opium a particularly attractive substance at the time?
5.
The Industrial Revolution was in its bare infancy in 1815, therefore we must assume that most of the furniture and decoration made for the Royal Pavilion was crafted by skilled artisans of the time, and not produced in a factory. Although some limited pieces might be available for purchase from the cabinetmaker's showroom floor, most likely the buyer would order furniture and wait months to receive it. How might the furniture-buying habits of a homeowner in the early nineteenth century be different from today?
6.
The Cato Street Conspiracy, which was modeled on the plans of the French Revolution, was obviously a miserable failure. Why do you think that such schemes tend to go awry? Compare and contrast leaders like Arthur Thistlewood and Maximilien Robespierre.
7.
Given that he received money based on a strict annual allowance from Parliament, how was the Prince Regent able to initiate such grand schemes as Carlton House and the Royal Pavilion? How could he assure creditors they would be paid?
8.
Do you think it's likely that John Nash married Mary Ann Bradley as a favor to the Prince Regent? If so, does it change your view of Nash? Your opinion of the Prince Regent? What does such a marriage suggest about Mary Ann's role in society?
9.
The Prince Regent secretly married the Catholic widow Maria Fitzherbert in 1785. He did this in express defiance of both the 1701 Act of Settlement, which prevented any royal from marrying a Catholic, and the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, which prevented a royal marriage from taking place without the express consent of the monarch. So, in your opinion, what took precedence: a marriage performed by a clergyman or the rules established by the Crown? Was George in fact married to two women at once?
10.
Do you think the poisoning rumors that circulated after Queen Caroline's death were just wild speculation, or was there sufficient reason at the time to think they might be true?

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